1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pointing devices that are used to control automatic data processing systems such as personal computers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pointing devices such as mice and trackball units are well known. In fact, sold with many new personal computing devices is a mouse that may be used to control operating system and application program functions and, in particular, the operations of a graphical user interface. Moreover, many operating systems and application programs cannot be effectively operated without the use of a mouse or other pointing device to control and select screen objects that may be displayed within a graphical user interface. For example, navigating through hyper-text documents via the Internet and the world wide web would be difficult and less effective if one were not able to select screen objects and control system operations through use of a pointing device such as a mouse.
Despite their wide spread use and acceptance, use of pointing devices such as mice are not without their problems. Generally, it has long been recognized that any type of repetitive physical activity may lead to stress related injuries which, in turn, can lead to chronic pain, fatigue, and even disability. In particular, it is well known that constant and prolonged use of a pointing device such as a mouse may lead to physical problems of the hand and wrist known as carpal tunnel syndrome.
To attempt to solve certain problems associated with repetitive motion realized in connection with pointing device use, various devices have been proposed. Such devices generally can be classified into two distinct groups. A first group consists of improved pointing devices. A second group consists of alternative pointing devices.
The group of improved pointing devices is exemplified by the CONTOUR MOUSE.TM. which is manufactured and marketed by CONTOUR DESIGNS, INC. The CONTOUR MOUSE.TM. is available in multiple sizes for both right-handed and left-handed individuals. The principle features of the CONTOUR MOUSE.TM. that are used to combat the effects of repetitive motion injuries include a contoured casing and contoured mouse selection buttons which may be operated by the fingers of an operator in a conventional way. Unfortunately, however, although more "ergonomic" in terms of its structure than conventional mouse pointing devices, the CONTOUR MOUSE.TM. and other similar devices still require constant and repetitive finger motion to control computer program execution and the like. As such, devices like the CONTOUR MOUSE.TM. do not prevent injury to the delicate structures of an operator's hand that can result from repetitive motions or operations.
The group of alternative pointing devices is exemplified by the NO HANDS MOUSE.TM. manufactured and marketed by Hunter Digital Corporation. The NO HANDS MOUSE.TM. attempts to prevent the effects of repetitive mouse-related operations such as carpal tunnel syndrome by completely removing the mouse from an operator's hand and placing cursor control and object selection structures within a foot-operated device. Unfortunately, foot-operated cursor control devices like the NO HANDS MOUSE.TM. have not realized the popularity that hand-operated devices have in recent years. Such a lack of popularity may be the result of the fact that people tend to have less dexterity in their feet than in their hands. As such, foot-operated pointing devices do not provide the accuracy that hand-operated cursor control devices have realized.
Thus, there exists a need to provide an improved pointing device which will allow cursor control via hand-based operation and which will alleviate the risks of injury associated with repetitive physical movement. Such a device will need to alleviate the stress and strain on the delicate structures of a person's hand while still allowing effective and accurate cursor control and screen object selection.